{"id":554,"date":"2019-11-26T22:59:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T03:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/?p=554"},"modified":"2019-11-26T23:01:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T04:01:22","slug":"the-twelve-acts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/t\/the-twelve-acts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Twelve Acts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In many Buddhist traditions, there are infinite buddhas in a world system characterized by cyclic time. Across infinite parallel variations, every universe is created, thrives, and dies, to be then be born again. Despite the plethora of buddhas, each singular universe only ever has one buddha born into it. Our current universe already received its buddha, the great \u015aakyamuni Buddha, known too as Siddhartha Gautama. (Tenzin Ch\u00f6gyel, 3-8) In the Buddha\u2019s lifetime defined by his existence in a physical body born into this world, he performed 12 great acts. These are not the only spectacular deeds that he performed, but these 12 characterize chapters which together chronicle the Buddha\u2019s life. From here, the Buddha will be referred to as the Bodhisattva until act ten, when he achieves full enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – The descent from the Pure Land of Tushita:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva\u2019s story begins with his life before the one in our world, when he was born as a god in the paradise Tushita. He had already undergone numerous countless eons of lives, and had long ago taken his vow to become a buddha. The Bodhisattva determined, after teaching to the gods for many years, that he should be reborn again into our world in order to teach the truth during one of the darkest times. (Ch\u00f6gyel, 12) And so he chose Mayadevi, wife of the King of Suddhodana, to be his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 – Entering his mother\u2019s womb:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva entered the right side of his mother\u2019s womb without causing her pain. She was saw him as a white baby elephant with six gold tusks. He lived within a three-story palace in her womb for ten to 12 months, and taught many guests, including Brahma. (Ch\u00f6gyel, 17) Some say that he could have been born miraculously, and, applying upaya<\/em>, say that he chose to do so to show that even ordinary humans with regular births can achieve enlightenment. (Thrangu Rinpoche, 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bodhisattva’s mother, Mayadevi. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

3 – Birth:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mayadevi went to her garden in Lumbini, and came before a fig tree. There she gave birth to the Bodhisattva with no pain. He entered this world fully clothed, and took seven steps in each of the cardinal directions, prompting miraculous occurrences each time. He was given the name \u201cSiddhartha\u201d in Sanskrit, which means, \u201cthe one that makes everything possible.\u201d (Thrangu Rinpoche, 3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 – Becoming skilled in sports, the arts, and sciences:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva attended school as a young \u015aakya prince, and quickly demonstrated his knowledge and skills in every subject. There is some disagreement whether if he learned everything very quickly, if he knew everything to begin with and demonstrated it immediately, and if he knew everything to begin with but pretended not to as to demonstrate to humanity the importance of an education, and show that he was like us. (Ch\u00f6gyel, 27-29; Thrangu Rinpoche, 4; FPMT, 3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 – Enjoying the company of his wife and consorts:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

(Some titles, like that used by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, focus on the Bodhisattva\u2019s marriage avoid mention of the consorts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this time, the Bodhisattva found a wife and had a harem, both of which he enjoyed. Some say the Bodhisattva did this in order to demonstrate that he was familiar with pleasure, and could still reject it. (Buddhist Himalaya VOL. I  NO. II ) Others add that the Bodhisattva enjoyed a full harem in order to demonstrate that even the greatest pleasures (as they put it) are nothing in comparison to enlightenment. (Thrangu Rinpoche, 4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 – Fleeing the palace and renunciation:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva, having enjoyed many of life\u2019s pleasures, snuck out of the palace four times. By one account, each time he saw something that taught him of the world. (Thrangu Rinpoche, 4) By others, he was the embodiment of each of those visions, and simply took their guises in order to test his charioteer. He interacted with or became an embodiment of age, sickness, death, and finally a renunciate. He then decided to leave the palace for good to become a renunciate himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is an ascetic Buddha, depicting his time living without food in austerity.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

7 – Practicing austerity:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva practiced austerity for six years without finding enlightenment as a person, or intentionally did not find enlightenment for six years on purpose. In both cases, the lesson became that living in an extreme, either in extreme asceticism or in extreme pleasures like he did at the palace, was wrong. Instead, he learned (or demonstrated) that enlightenment will be found by going in the middle, by taking the Middle Path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Traveling through the mountains on either side is unnecessarily difficult and unrewarding. Instead, the Bodhisattva taught to take the Middle Path and travel between the two.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

8 – Proceeding to the Bodhi tree:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Bodhisattva journeyed to Bodhgaya in Magadha, where many buddhas had gone to become enlightened, to become enlightened himself. He sat beneath the Bodhi tree that grew the day of his birth, and vowed not to rise until he was enlightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 – Defeating Mara\u2019s hosts:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The demon Mara then came to lead the Bodhisattva astray, and tried with various tricks and persuasions. (Thrangu Rinpoche, 7) When those did not work, he brought a demon army, but their weapons turned to flowers in the air and their resolve buckled as the Bodhisattva met them with unending compassion. During this battle, he touched the his right hand to the ground to call the goddess of the earth, Sthavara, to witness him. (Ch\u00f6gyel, 59)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 – Becoming fully enlightenment:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After defeating Mara and his armies but before dawn, the Bodhisattva worked through many great truths until, in an instant, he understood everything and achieved perfect enlightenment. (Ch\u00f6gyel, 61)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 – Turning the wheel of the Dharma:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is said that Buddha turned the wheel of the Dharma in three ways, which means he taught in three different manners. The first way he taught was the Hinayana, or \u201cthe Deficient\/Little Vehicle,\u201d the second Mahayana, or \u201cthe Great\/Exalted Vehicle,\u201d and the third Vajrayana, also known as \u201cthe Thunderbolt Vehicle\u201d or \u201cthe way of the diamond.\u201d (Quintman, 2019, RELI242<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A physical representation of the Dharmic wheel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

12 – Demonstrating a release from all suffering by passing away:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Buddha, despite being able to live forever in this world, chose to pass away and teach that loss is inherent in everything. In passing away, he fully passes out of Samsara and suffering. (Buddhist Himalaya VOL. I  NO. II)


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

External Links:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This<\/a> site has a description of the 12 acts, but more importantly contains the panels depicting these acts in the Memorial Shrine at Land of Medicine Buddha, painted by Thubten Gelek and assistant Ngawang Kunkhen. Their work took more than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a history of the Buddha’s life and a series of nine thangkas portraying it, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This<\/a> site features different and more in-depth versions of Mara\u2019s battle against the Bodhisattva and the Bodhisattva\u2019s enlightenment. It also shows a great set of murals, carvings, reliefs, statues, and paintings of scenes related to the battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Readings:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

N\u0101g\u0101rjuna. \u201cIn Praise of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha.\u201d Lotsawa House<\/em>, www.lotsawahouse.org\/indian-masters\/nagarjuna\/praise-twelve-deeds. [A beautiful poetic homage to the buddha by N\u0101g\u0101rjuna, praising the Buddha’s twelve acts.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lingpa, Jigme. \u201cPraise of the Twelve Acts of the Buddha.\u201d Lotsawa House<\/em>, www.lotsawahouse.org\/tibetan-masters\/jigme-lingpa\/praise-twelve-acts-buddha. [A similar set of poetic verses as the ones above, again praising the twelve acts. This reading offers line-by-line translations of the original language into either two other languages or into a phonetic version of the original and English. Without being able to read what I believe is Sanskrit, I am at a loss.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vidy\u0101bh\u016b\u1e63a\u1e47a, Sati\u015b Chandra Ach\u0101rya. \u201cMah\u0101y\u0101na and H\u012bnay\u0101na.\u201d Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland<\/em>, 1900, pp. 29\u201342. JSTOR<\/em>, www.jstor.org\/stable\/25208166. [A very detailed description on the differences between Hinayana and Mahayana, the first two teachings of the Buddha.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carman, Rose. The Middle Way: Book of Poetry on Buddhism and Living Well<\/em>. SCRIBD, SCRIBD<\/em>, www.scribd.com\/document\/141286260\/The-Middle-Way-Book-of-Poetry-on-Buddhism-and-Living-Well. [Some more recently produced poetry on the Middle Way, to contrast the older poetry and show how current Buddhists interact with Buddhist practices.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Berzin, Alexander. \u201cThe Twelve Deeds of a Buddha.\u201d Study Buddhism<\/em>, Berzin Archives, 2019, studybuddhism.com\/en\/advanced-studies\/lam-rim\/refuge\/the-twelve-deeds-of-a-buddha. [An short list of the twelve acts with an introduction on their importance in the mahayana traditions.]

Ch\u00f6gyel Tenzin, and Kurtis R. Schaeffer. The Life of the Buddha<\/em>. Penguin Classics, 2015. [A translation of the work written by a chief abbot of Bhutan, Tenzin Ch\u00f6gyel, as an instructional piece for young monks on the life of the buddha.]

Rinpoche, Thrangu. \u201cThe Twelve Deeds of the Buddha.\u201d The Very Venerable 9th Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche<\/em>, www.rinpoche.com. [A summary of each of the twelve acts by the 9th Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.]

Rinpoche, Thrangu. \u201cTwelve Principal Deeds of Lord Buddha.\u201d Twelve Principal Deeds of Lord Buddha<\/em>, 1989, enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw\/FULLTEXT\/JR-BH\/bh117477.htm. As recorded in Buddhist Himalaya VOL. I NO. II. [A similar summary of the twelve acts, which includes less upaya than the one above.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In many Buddhist traditions, there are infinite buddhas in a world system characterized by cyclic time. Across infinite parallel variations, every universe is created, thrives, and dies, to be then be born again. Despite the plethora of buddhas, each singular universe only ever has one buddha born into it. Our current universe already received its … <\/p>\n

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